Chapter 24: Unwanted Umbral
From that point on, the Leviathan popped up to visit us frequently, giving a happy screech and doing a few loops around the ship whilst checking in on us. Most of midday after the infection fiasco was spent eating snacks and playing games...speaking of which...
"28...29...30! Ready or not, here I come!" Knit called out from the main room.
Yep, Hide-and-Seek. Hat was insistent we play it now that we had so many crewmates. I usually wasn't up for Hat's games, since they could be a bit rough (Don't remind me about pillow fighting) but hiding was easy. I had tucked myself up in the corner of the Engine Room, keeping myself warm with the heat it emanated.
"Found you!" I heard Knit call out.
"Gosh darn, looks like you caught me." I heard CC say. Obviously she made it easy for her to find the cat.
I smiled a little. I couldn't believe the spaceship that was just me, Hat and Roombi had grown so crowded. We could have had worse company. We'd really done a lot on this planet, the two of us.
And yet there were more questions. I thought back to what Voice said at the Twilight Bell. About those who were erased...and that I was born from experience of their failures. It was funny...people from other dimensions I'd seen could travel too...but then again, maybe those methods damaged the boundaries like Voice said? But then, the rules seemed to be different, after all...Timmy was in the world the Leviathan was born from.
Out of curiosity, I held out my hand. Maybe to try and make...I dunno, a portal or something.
"Portal." I stated simply. Nothing. Now I just looked like an idiot.
Maybe I shouldn't think on it. After all, it would just be another bad thought resting in my mind. But all that I'd experienced so far suggested something more...
"Found you!" I jumped as Knit leaned into my field of vision.
"Ah, you got me." I admitted as I stood up. "Guess you're too good."
"Or you suck at hiding." She suggested.
"Or that." I admitted.
"Or you were thinking about something."
"...Or that." I echoed.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"It's alright. Just a bit of pondering." I told her.
"Okay. Well, I've found you, CC, Boss and Roombi. That just leaves Hat and Bow." She counted off.
"Congratulations, you're now on hard mode." I informed her.
"Any ideas?"
"I'm guessing Hat buried herself in her mountain of pillows, and Bow followed after her."
"Awesome!" Knit nodded as we ran out into the main room.
When suddenly the intruder alarm began blaring.
"An intruder!" I gasped as my eyes darted around.
"Guyyyyyyyyyys?" Hat's voice called from her bedroom.
"Huh, you were right." Knit said as we both ran into the room.
"Hat! What's-YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!" I screamed.
Snatcher was sitting in the corner of the room, several candles with his likeness around him as he read a book.
"Hello, brat." He said, without taking his eyes away from his reading material.
"Snatcher!" I roared as I got my yo-yo and Necro Necklace ready. I'm pretty sure I could hit him if I was a ghost-
"Wait, Tie!" Hat stopped me. "I don't think he's here to cause trouble!"
"Hat! This is the snake who stole our souls, sent us into Vanessa's Manor and kidnapped you!" I cried. "And now he's in your room!"
"I can hear you." Snatcher said.
"Good!" I yelled.
"But he doesn't look like he's up to trouble." Hat shrugged. "He's just reading a book. Plus, he's in enemy territory. He's at a disadvantage outside of Subcon, right?"
"Again, right here." Snatcher commented.
"Well what ARE you doing right there!?" I huffed.
He finally closed his book and regarded us. "You see, brat, I came to a bit of an epiphany recently. You two are the biggest brambles in my sides ever...but you also fascinate me."
"We're not working for you." I growled.
"Please, I've given up on that. You're more trouble then you're worth." He sighed. "I'm just here to...observe. And maybe...offer something?"
I turned my yo-yo into a hammer.
"Tie." Hat pouted, making me return it to normal.
"Just hear me out, brat. Kid said it herself; I'm at a disadvantage here. If you wanted to kick me off you could do so with that lovely little necklace and her Dweller Mask." He went on, looking quite comfortable, which irked me. "I've disregarded you a bit too much, but you little off-worlders have done things previously thought impossible: faced Vanessa and lived, gotten rid of that terrible toilet...given me a horrible headache."
"You're welcome." I spoke up at that last bit.
"Now I just want to see more of you in action, get to learn about you, that's all. Is this the face of a liar?" He gave us his standard face.
"Absolutely." I nodded.
"Well yes, you're correct, but I'm not lying about this!" He admitted. "Besides, I have something even gods don't have; reliability! You got rewarded after every job you did without fail, didn't you?"
"You also tried to kill us." Hat was giving me a look from all my quips, but I wasn't letting go of this.
"All I'm saying is, let me sleep on the couch." He shrugged. "And provide something in return? No contracts."
I proceeded to begin dragging Hat out of her own room.
"C'mon, Tie. Here him out!" Hat whined.
"Yeah, Brat! I'm trying my best here!" Snatcher vouched for himself, not helping his case at all.
I sighed. "What's the catch?"
"Catch?"
"You heard me, you can literally spell it with the letters in your name."
"Just letting me hang around, that's it!" He practically groaned. "Come on, brat! Believe it or not, I know what happens on this planet outside of Subcon. Like the fact the Arctic Cruise is setting sail tomorrow, and knowing the luck you two have they'll be some Time Pieces on board."
"Really!?" Hat gasped.
"Of course! Even I'm going!" He said. "Plus, believe it or not, I'm quite the creative type! You both seem to have a passion for self-customisation, I can make a couple of things as payment if you so wish. Who do you think made the clothes for my Minions?"
I didn't even bother looking at him. "What's in it for you?"
"I get to sate my own curiosity." He responded. "You two are the only things on my mind at the minute. It's interfering with my work! Once I'm satisfied, I'll be gone for good!
"He always has an ulterior motive." Knit said as she lay down on top of my head, feet kicking the air and reading. "He probably wants to stab you in your sleep."
"Oh, so THIS is where you scurried off to little doll." Snatcher's face soured. "Don't think I've forgotten the fact that you tore up my contract and flew away like you won!"
"Bite me." She responded, which made Hat snort.
"Is she a problem?" I glared.
"...None at all." He hissed, retreating back to the corner of the room. "But seriously, I don't have much power outside of Subcon...unfortunately...besides, I've had enough of trying to kill you two to last an eternity."
Hat stared up at me with puppy-dog eyes.
"You can't be serious." I groaned.
"We should at least let him stay for a bit, see how he acts." She suggested. "We could show him around the ship, our new moves..."
"We're not performers, Hat. Well, maybe you are."
"Hey, if he does cause any trouble at all, we can just beat him up and toss him out, right?"
"Obviously."
"Your compassion warms my dead heart." Snatcher responded dryly.
"What do you think, Knit?" I asked the being on my head.
"Not at all." Knit stated simply.
"Okay, okay then." The shadow mumbled. "How about a little peace offering then?" He reached into his shadowy body and pulled out...two buckets of paint?
"What's that?" Hat was instantly enamoured.
"These are some special magical costumes." He said as he put them in front of us. "I sometimes give them to Minions to reward good behaviour.
"...They're buckets of paint." I stated.
"Magical, brat." He replied, irked. "Pour them over yourselves, and you'll see."
Hat instantly grabbed her own bucket, but I stopped her with an outstretched arm and stared into the one he placed in front of me. It was sky blue and shimmering...almost like it was water, but thicker.
"Come on, come on." Snatcher drawled.
"Fine!" I picked the bucket up and poured the contents over myself. It almost seemed to stick to me.
"Wow, Tie!" I turned to Hat and did a double-take. She was completely sparkly!
"Hat, you look...sparkly." I stated dumbly.
"You look like a drip!" She giggled.
"Huh?" I looked over myself, and it seemed my own colours had changed so that I looked like I was completely made out of water, like Chaos from Sonic Adventure or Morpha from Ocarina of Time. "Oh, very funny."
"Cool, right? Very generous of me, right?" Snatcher intervened. "Completely magical, doesn't wash off. If you want to change back to normal, just reach into the bucket." I did as he suggested, and the paint literally slid off of me and back into the bucket.
"That's so nice! What a unique use of magic!" Hat praised.
"What can I say? A guys gotta have hobbies to stave off madness." Snatcher commented. "And I can make more, too! Whaddya say? Good enough to win your trust?"
I stared at Snatcher. I still didn't trust or like him. Not after what he did to Hat. But something then came to me.
"Snatcher." He looked me in the eye. "Have you ever heard of Rough Patches?"
"Rough Patches?" He repeated with a quizzical look. "No, what's that?"
"They're...I need some paper and a pencil." I said.
"Here you go." Knit handed me one of each from inside her yarn body. Seemed she was writing more letters to a Moonjumper.
"Thanks." I said as I took them and scribbled a, frankly terrible drawing of a basic Rough Patch. Art was not my strong suite. "They look like this."
"Awwwwww! It's so cute!" Hat cooed.
"Is that supposed to be my face?" Snatcher questioned.
"They're like little animals." I pointed out. "You don't know them at all?"
"Nope." Snatcher shrugged. "Although...they look like my minions. I reckon I could make one...y'know, if I tried."
"You could?" I gasped. So Snatcher DID make the Rough Patches!?
"But what would be the point?" Snatcher shrugged. "My Minions work just fine."
'So he needed a reason to make them? I wonder what that reason was...?" I wondered.
"No, you gotta make them, Snatcher!" Hat pouted.
"Why!?"
"Because they're adorable!"
"No way! if that's your only reason, then that's pointless!"
"See? He is incapable of being selfless." Knit said.
"What did you say?" Snatcher took offense. "Can't you see what a generous guy I am?"
"Only when it conveniences you." Knit mumbled.
"Mmmmm…" He reumbled. "...How about I say; 'I'll see what I can do', will that satisfy you?"
"Good enough!" Hat beamed.
"Fine." I huffed.
"So I can stay?" He insisted.
"You already can." I informed him, making him give me a quizzical look. "Hat wanted you to stay. Captain's orders. This entire conversation was just a waste of your time and making you pay magical rent."
He blinked twice. His face didn't change, but I'm pretty sure he wanted to strangle me behind that smile. "...Oh. Okay. Great. Fantastic."
"Welcome to the crew, Snatcher!" Hat gave his lower body a hug.
"No." Me and Knit stated simultaneously.
Just then, the door opened and Bow walked in. "Are we still playing hide-and-SNATCHER!"
We had to stop her from attacking him and inadvertently destroying Hat's room.
"You cannot be serious!"
"She is." I responded to CC as I put in three Rift Tokens and turned the crank.
"You are letting him hang around here after all he did to you!? After the awful horror stories surrounding him? After he nearly killed you, Tie!?" She cried.
"Yep." Hat nodded simply. "He's much weaker away from Subcon. He won't be much trouble."
"Captain's orders." I stated simply as I picked up the capsule. "I'll keep an eye on him.
"I still think it's a bad idea." Bow said.
"Hey, at least Boss has somebody to talk to about running an organisation." Hat said. Of course those two would hit it off. Roombi was actually with us instead of in the bedroom, since he didn't want to hear what those two bosses talked about.
I popped open the capsule. This one was a new flair for the Cleaner Cape at last. It gave it a more metallic patchwork design, as if the cape itself was made out of flattened scrap like springs and gears, with little gear-shaped magnets acting as the clip now. The same golden tornado symbol was on it though.
"Don't worry, CC." I assured her. "We'll definitely protect you."
"I'm worried about you children!" She sighed heavily. "At least I don't have to cook for him..."
"Actually, I do fancy a snack every now and then." Snatcher poked up out of the shadows, causing CC to scream. "Even if I don't need to eat."
"Snatcher! Don't scare CC!" Hat huffed.
"That's just my natural charm and charisma. It has that effect on people." Snatcher commented. "You know that Boss is quite the character. Inferior and pathetic, but a character nonetheless."
"Did you want something?" I spoke, irritated.
"Just thought I'd make my overwhelming presence known to the other residents you all seem to have here. It's almost like a menagerie in this spaceship!" He said.
"You really are...Snatcher." CC spoke softly.
"Trembling? That's adorable! I'd blush if I cared about your opinion!" He cackled. "But seriously though, I appreciate everybody's fear of me and the fact my reputation exceeds me!"
"Straddling the high horse there." I muttered.
"However, I did come in here for a reason." Just then, he plucked Knit off of my head. "I'm gonna need to borrow this for a bit."
"What!?" I gasped.
"Hey! Let me go!" Knit thrashed around.
"I just want to talk with you about something." Snatcher said. "Regarding you. And Moonjumper."
That caused her to instantly stop. "Dad?"
"That's right. Because you exist, I have subtle feelings of Moonjumper. I'm the closest thing you have to him, really." Snatcher said. "And I think you have potential given to you by him."
"Potnetial?" Knit seemed to look hopeful.
"Hey!" I yelled up at him. "Stop sweet-talking her!"
"I would never!" Snatcher cried, mock-offended. "Come on, brat. I'm the closest to knowing exactly what she can do. I'm just helping out."
"After you got all mad at her after what happened in Subcon?" I questioned.
"The future's more important then the past." Snatcher said. "I'm trying to help Moonjumper's prodigy find a purpose. That's all." He looked at her. "You want that, don't you?"
"...If dad did give me power...I want to know what I can do with it." Knit admitted.
"Knit!" I called.
"Excellent!" Snatcher said. "Let's get to work!" He then flew into Hat's room with her and pushed Boss out. "We'll be out in a moment!"
"Snatcher!" I shouted.
"No peeking with that Necro Necklace, brat!" Snatcher called. "This is private work!"
"You pecking...!" I hissed.
A moment my butt! They were in there for an hour! I sat in front of that door, arms folded the whole time!
"You okay?" Hat said as she sat down next to him. "CC's made chicken curry."
"I'm gonna stay here." I said.
"I'm sure they're alright." She tried to reassure me.
"He manipulated her using Moonjumper's name." I said. "He's plotting something."
"You are worried about Knit, aren't you?" Hat giggled. "I wouldn't. Knit likes you y'know. You're not gonna be replaced again."
"I'm not scared about being replaced." I denied. "I'm worried he's going to do something to her."
"She can take care of herself." She reassured me. "She saved me after all."
Before I could respond, the door opened, and I immediately jumped to my feet. "Knit! Are you-!?"
"Ta-dah!" She held up two costumes proudly. "They're done!"
"...Huh?" I stated dumbly.
"A real talent, this one has." Snatcher poked up behind her. "Knitting skills really are impressive, they just needed a bit more design work and precision, along with a bit of magic. Quick learner too!"
"Look! I made these for you two!" Knit held them up excitedly. "Try them on!"
"Wow! Thanks, Knit!" Hat praised.
"Thank you, Knit..." I accepted it.
"Yes, real potential here." Snatcher nodded. "Wouldn't you agree, brat?"
I looked at him. There was something hidden in those eyes. Then I looked at Knit. She stared at me hopefully.
"Yeah." I nodded as I put the costume on over my regular clothes.
And well, it was just my regular shirt. Except for one thing; it was all blocky, and when I put it on...
"I feel blocky." Hat stated.
"Because you look it." I stated as I stared at her form, which had turned all polygon.
"So do you! It's like we're straight out of a 64 game!" She gasped.
"That's the magic working. You're welcome." Snatcher bowed. "This little thing here's gonna work on more costumes for you all."
"That's amazing, Knit! Well done!" Hat praised.
"You did a really good job." It was kinda comfy too despite being so...pointy.
"Awwww..." She blushed pink.
"Hey! Don't I get anything!?" Bow gasped.
"Nope." Snatcher denied.
"Sorry, Bow." Knit turned her down more gently. "But don't worry, I'll make a bunch more!"
"Okay..." Bow was still comically weeping.
"Come on, let's go have dinner like this!" Hat suggested as she walked off.
"If you say so." I shrugged as Knit followed behind me.
Snatcher slithered along as well. "I don't suppose I could have a taste of whatever-"
"No." I denied sternly.
"You're seriously wounding me, brat!"
"I don't care! Get out!"
It was bedtime. Tomorrow the Arctic Cruise would set sail and we would join to collect Time Pieces. But now was the time for sleep, which meant Snatcher needed to leave Hat's bedroom.
"It's just while I sleep, Snatcher." Hat told him.
"Sleep is for the alive! You should spend you're time doing...I dunno, beating up innocent debt collectors? Like you usually do?" He droned.
"Out!" I pointed.
"Fine. Fine. I need to go back and pack my things anyway. See you tomorrow, tykes!" He then vanished into the shadows, taking his candles with him.
"Jerk." I spat.
"Maybe he really is turning around." Hat said as she got into bed. "He helped Knit after all."
"Still don't trust him." I denied. "I've got to be tough on him for both of our sakes. You're a bit too forgiving, Hat, even for our species."
"Just one of my charms. Next to my cuteness of course!" She bragged.
"Right." I huffed. "See you in the morning."
I went up to my room to see Knit bouncing on her bed. "You seem happy."
"I'm just happy the costumes turned out so well." She told me.
"About that, what exactly did Snatcher talk with you about?" I asked.
"He told me how to use a bit of my magic in my knitting to make it even better." Knit recalled. "And about how I have my dads magic inside me, that can do amazing things!" Her eyes turned up in a smile. "And that I was making my dad happy by tapping into them."
"Mm." I gave neither a positive nor negative response. Snatcher's motives were never good from experience so far.
"I'm glad I can help you all. Even just a little bit." She admitted.
I softened. "You've always been of help, Knit."
"Not all the time..." She was referring to the Vanessa incident with that sad look.
"Just being here is enough, Knit." I told her.
"No it's not. Just existing doesn't honour dad in any way." Knit said.
It always came back to him. Moonjumper. How much did he plague her with thoughts of him at her creation? I wish I knew him...
"But I hope this will please him." She nodded. "Good night, Tie."
"Good night, Knit." I said as I walked over and got in my own bed.
I drifted off to sleep with naught but concerns.
Snatcher stuffed his things into a crude briefcase. Thankfully the minions hadn't burnt down Subcon whilst he was away. But what an experience from just one day! the way those two little thorns mess about, those things called Rough Patches, and Moonjumper's toy...
'Yes, Moonjumper's doll...' He thought to himself.
'Moonjumper...whenever I think of your name, emotions swell up within me.' Snatcher sat in his favourite chair, resting on one arm. 'You were powerful. So naturally you'd stuff some of your power inside that little homunculus of yours. Terrifying power.'
A dark smile crept onto his lips. 'But your plaything is far too docile, too soft. I must awaken that powerful magic within it. And once I do...I'll kill your ball of yarn and take your power for my own, Moonjumper! And with that, I will DEFINITELY kill that kid and brat, and take their power too! And then nothing can stop me!'
He cackled to himself. 'I sincerely thank you, Moonjumper. Your pawn will be my key for victory!'
Aquatic Costume: Gives Tie a paint job that makes him look like he's completely made out of water.
Virtual Brat Outfit: Makes Tie look like he came straight out of a Nintendo 64 game.
With this, we begin the Arctic Cruise arc! The level itself is a bit short, most of the content went into Snatcher's contracts, but we can still get a few good chapters out of it, like this one!
NOW! Serious time. Because of the coronavirus all schools in Britain will be shut down starting this Friday. Which means my siblings will be home and have first dibs on the internet, so internet will be more scarce for me, and I will have less time to write. Just to let you know.
Am I scared of COVID-19? Yes. Because of my chronic illness I'm in the high-risk demographic. I'm taking every precaution I can but my few yet treasured social interactions have now been cut off. Shelves in shops are bare, business is going down and rough times are most likely ahead. All because somebody ate a bat, and people are too bloody lazy to wash their hands properly. Now people are stealing hand sanitizers from hospitals and mugging people for their toilet paper. Humanity as a whole is really disappointing in times like this.
At least my copy of New Horizons didn't get delayed...yet.
Take care of yourselves everybody, and thank you for reading. Special thanks to Konan720 for reviewing the last chapter. Hope you stay well, Konan.
